Two lopsided victories in less than 24 hours got the varsity boys’ basketball team headed back in the right direction heading into their post-Christmas tournament in the L.A. area. On Thursday evening, the Warriors plowed through Santa Cruz High School 70-48, and on Friday afternoon they squashed visiting North Salinas 89-37. The games provided an opportunity for all the players to see significant action and get back into a groove after a few tough losses. “These wins definitely put us in a more positive frame of mind, and that’s important for our young group,” said head coach Steve Cotton.
Against the Santa Cruz, the team enjoyed a balanced scoring attack, and their pressure defense kept the Cardinals from ever getting on track themselves. The Warrior defense came out in force, holding Santa Cruz to just four field goals in the first half and creating numerous turnovers, leading to a 40-13 halftime lead. Seniors Justin Walker and Andrew Daou set the tone with their intensity and hustle during the opening half. The coaching staff challenged the team to step up their effort and designed a new stat to keep track of the players’ hustle: “DDT’s.” DDT stands for Dives, Deflections, and Traps. Coaches love to see players dive on the floor after loose balls, and Walker embraces that role wholeheartedly. “It seems like every time you get on the floor, something good happens for your team, even if you don’t get the ball yourself,” said the senior guard. The pressure defense system the Warriors employ necessitates lots of ball pressure and active hands all over the court, and deflections can lead to steals or help wear down the opponent psychologically. “I can see it in the other team’s eyes when they think they can’t complete a pass anywhere,” said Daou, who racked up 8 first-half deflections, “I just try to get my hands on balls early, and pretty soon it feels like they’re throwing it right to me.” Traps require players to hustle to the correct position on the floor and box in the opposing ball handler, forcing a bad pass. “We set a lot of traps in our defense, but we need to do a better job of not letting the other team escape out of them,” said sophomore Tim Harris.
In the second half, the Cardinals came out strong, outscoring the Warriors 12-2 in the first few minutes. “It’s tough not to have a mental letdown after building a big lead like we did,” said Cotton. Fresh legs and enthusiasm came in to right the ship for VC, however, and the team recovered to outscore Santa Cruz 18-16 in the 3rd quarter. 6’9” junior, Tyler Gallau, pleased the home fans with a dazzling display of shot blocking on the evening, sometimes racking up two or three blocks in the same possession.
Box Score (vs. Santa Cruz)
After a good night’s sleep, the Warriors had to be back in the gym for a 2 pm tip-off against North Salinas High School. The game turned out looking much like the night before: multiple scoring threats and stifling defense sent the visitors packing as VC won 89-37. Freshman sharpshooter, Max Hooper had his coming-out party during the game, hitting 10 three pointers and leading the team in scoring with 32 points. “We all know Max can shoot, and it was great to see him get into a groove. It helped me get a lot of assists!” said junior point guard, Josh Scheibley. It was definitely the team’s most unselfish offensive effort of the year. “Guys were continually looking to make the extra pass and find the open man for the best possible shot. It was great to watch,” said assistant coach Todd Baldwin.
Sparkplug Justin Walker helped establish great defensive intensity by diving on the floor again, and the whole team seemed to catch the “DDT” bug, as one possession saw four different Warriors hit the deck trying to secure a loose ball. Late in the game, Walker dove to save a ball that was headed out of bounds and landed right in the laps of the coaches. “Justin’s intensity sets the tone for everyone else . . . he even forces us as coaches to stay on our toes!” said assistant coach, Dan Meester.
10 different players tallied points in the scorebook for the home team, with 7 guys putting up 6 or more. Andrew Daou had another solid 17-point effort, and Tyler Gallau proved very efficient, putting up 8 points on 4-5 shooting from the floor. The story of the game was Hooper, however, and hopefully this is a sign of great things to come. At one point in the third quarter, the freshman nailed four 3’s in a row, and the crowd really started to respond. “It’s times like that, that you are more surprised when the shot doesn’t go in the basket,” said coach Steve Cotton, “We see Max’s abilities every day in practice, and it was nice for the fans to get their chance to see them too. Hopefully I don’t have to work so hard to convince him to shoot after today.” Late in the game, Tim Harris hauled off an impressive slam dunk in transition to put an exclamation point on the victory and propel the team into their tournament at Chaminade High School in West Hills, starting December 27. “If we win our first game there, we could play Menlo again, and I’d love to get the chance to redeem myself against them,” said Harris. The Knights handed VC an 18-point defeat last week.
With the team headed in the right direction, stay tuned for updates from the Chaminade tournament, and come see the Warriors rack up their “DDT’s” as WCAL play begins January 3rd at Bellarmine and the team hosts Sacred Heart Cathedral on January 5th. Merry Christmas!
Box Score (vs. North Salinas)
Upcoming Games:
Wednesday, December 27 - VC vs. Monroe (7:30pm – Chaminade Tournament in West Hills, CA)
Thurs.-Sat., December 28-30 - VC vs. TBA (@ Chaminade tournament in West Hills, CA)
Wednesday, January 3 - VC @ Bellarmine
Friday, January 5 - VC vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral
